Thursday, May 21, 2015

Even Duryodhana - the epitome of evil in Mahabharatham was blessed !

    When I said Krishna and my 3 year old daughter's immediate response was  Mahabharathamila varae Krishnava ?( Krishna who comes in Mahabharatham ? ) I felt that for so many generations, yet to come , the magic of Mahabharatham will never ebb its flow.

If you want to listen to heavenly flute as you read please play the below video( it an audio file only ) 


In an era where a leaked story can plunge a multi million dollar movie down into the dumps , the Great Epic Mahabharatham which has been told , retold, written about, debated, analysed, revered,telecasted and hosted in dramas umpteen times across millenia never ever fails to enthrall us and keep us spell bound. I know so many kids of the next generation who take it as a pride, that they know the Mahabharatham and its intricate details. Their knowledge on each character sometimes has been very impressive ( and clearly showed my ignorance :-) ) 


       For many us , it would be difficult to recall when we had a first glimpse into the great Epics, Ramayana and Mahabharatham, because it has been intertwined so much  into us- From mothers and Grandmothers giving their versions , to divulging into it in our every favourite Amir Chithra katha comics,to movies and the famous Gita Saram image all over the place. When it was telecast on the Doordharshan in the 80s,can any of us forget how the whole family used to be glued to the TV  ( and in Coonoor , for all the black and white grained version which we used to get , I remember the streets being silent during its telecast !)  and now decades later , bang on 9.00 clock, its history repeating again  and everybody gets glued to latest telecase of Mahabharatham again !!


        Its a story which  has got me pondering so many times and from any angle it was play of evil forces which had to be shot down , ofcourse by our Dear Krishna - the Virtue  and wrong of every action , every word , every character has been meditated and controverted across so many generations - but for me the Mahabharatham was just THE perfect backdrop for the Bhagvad Gita - to be rendered by the Lord Himself ....nothing more , nothing less .



The greatest family saga ever has it all - The larger than life characters, extreme valour and dexterity,deeply interwoven deceit and virtue, glorified Guru Dharma.......every event in the great Ithikasam has been scrutinsed and interpreted by thousands , laced by ifs and buts and what we should learn from it - 


but for the entire clan served as manure of the Gita to bloom in full glory !

For Krishna in his eloquent style, to gift to mankind ,the precious Gem of Gita , whose light can shine in abundance in all the many many millenia to come , for every personality in the Mahabharatham can be found across all walks of life  - and in that midst, the Gita tells how to live , really live  not just survive!!

The benefaction has been given and how much of it we imbibe it into ourselves is ofcourse a personal choice I guess .


  And what Characters !! Starting from Shantanu , Bhishma, Sathyvati ,Dirthrastra, Pandu , Gandhari , Kundi , Pandavas , Karna,Guravas, Sakuni...... ( my personal favourite is Karna :-) ) and I seriously envy  Duryondana, I really do ...Leave alone the Pandavas , Durpathi, Kunthi , Karna for all whom Krishna stood solid - the intention to harm was not driving them , but what about Duryodhana , who can be crowned the evil king ?


      Duryodhana has been given the evil stamp since its narration, his deeds were headstrong and unscrupulous.he had no qualms or second thoughts when any deed along the lines of adharma( evil) had to be initiated for his personal gain.  In spite of being his friendship with Karna standing as an example even today  and he was a respecter of Ksthyria skill, he is and will always be remembered for the wrong reasons  -....


.......... but even he , even the so called 'bad Duroyandhana' walked the same time as Krishna, he was addressed by Krishna as brother, he was granted a vision  of  Lord Vishnu when he tried to arrest Krishna, he would have heard the Lord's golden words umpteen times, when he tried to capture Krishna in court, he was dazzled as every one around him was Krishna..( ultimate Krishna Consciousness !! )  he was also cast by Krishna to play a role which  culminated towards the revered Bhagvad Gita-  who can hope for this in this kali yuga ?? None......


Oh Duryodhana - were'nt you blessed !!!!


p.s - The opinions are my own and in case there is some fact, which you feel is wrong interpretation of the Mahabharatham , kindly excuse and enlighten me on the same. Its an ocean where the learning never ends !







2 comments:

Anu said...

The beauty of the Mahabaratha is that it gives so much scope for interpretation. Duryodhana might have been the 'epitome of evil', but who are we to judge. Like you said, he was blessed. ( And my favourite is also Karna ) Very nicely written :)

Sujatha said...

Thanks Anu ! I am really happy the way you have seen my Blog - such an ocean of events and as you say so much to interpret .

Thrilled, excited,joyful etc.

Years roll by and I guess all of us at one stage think, I should have done this. When we are in our twenties, that seems ok because we feel...